Energy saving with BYOD

Energy saving methods are high on the agenda for many businesses, as limiting consumption presents a good means to cut expenditure on bills and thus focus funds on other areas.

While installing solar panels on offices, properly insulating walls and fitting heat pumps can be particularly expensive and large scale projects, one expert believes that getting employees to bring their own devices (BYOD) could help companies reduce their energy usage and improve their green credentials at little or no cost.

"BYOD needs to be shown to be a cost-saving mechanism, not just for IT (information technology) overheads, in management support and all that – but also from an energy point of view," said Darran Clare, head of internet protocol services at Zycko.

If workers charge their devices at home – such as tablets that have a long battery life and can be used throughout the day – the idea is that businesses can save money on bills as no energy is required to power laptops and PCs that will not be used. This could also help cut a company’s expenditure on hardware.

One issue that does arise with BYOD measures is that of security, and Mr Clare believes that such concerns have prevented the practice becoming more widespread.

"I think it is probably because a lot of technologies haven’t been out there to allow them to do it, to effectively amend their security that they have been spending years [on], making sure it is secure," he said.

As such, ensuring that workers have efficient backup software installed on their devices and that adequate data protection methods have also been taken may prove vital to cutting energy costs via promoting the BYOD strategy.

And with the Olympics set to start at the end of July, having workers use their own devices both at home and at work could reduce a company’s energy bills as they look to avoid any detrimental impact that the Games may have on productivity.